The whole aim of life is to achieve the favor of Viṣṇu. Oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam. That is the Ṛg-Veda mantra. To reach Viṣṇu. But they do not know the goal of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇu (SB 7.5.31). They do not know. Anyone, or any society who does not know the aim of life, they are in the darkness.
Actually, at the present moment especially, the whole human society has missed the point. They are trying to be happy by material adjustment. By social adjustment, by political adjustment, by economic development or by religious adjustment, they are trying to make the whole human society happy. But Bhāgavata says, durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ: this is something which is beyond the fulfillment of hopes. This hope will never be fulfilled. Durāśayā. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Because they have accepted the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, bahir-artha.
Just like this body. Your body, my body, this is bahir-artha, external. Just like my this wrapper, this is external. Real person is not this wrapper or this body. The real person is the soul. But they have no information of the soul, neither information of Viṣṇu, the origin of soul. They are interested with the external body. That is called bahir-artha. Bahi means external, artha means interest. Just like you have seen our . . . in our Bhāgavata, the picture that one lady is taking care of the cage, and the bird within is dying. So bahir-artha-mānī means this, that we are taking care of the body, external body, but not taking care of the soul within. This is the civilization of cows and asses. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). Go means cows, and khara means asses.
Therefore here it is said, ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ (SB 1.2.13). Dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ. In that meeting of Naimiṣāraṇya, there were all best brāhmins. Dvija means twice-born. Twice-born. The brahmins, the kṣatriya and the vaiśyas, they are supposed to be twice-born. One birth by the father and mother, and the other birth is by the guru and Vedic knowledge. The guru is the father, and Vedic knowledge is the mother. This is, in Āryan civilization, this varṇāśrama, varṇa: brāhmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra.
Śūdra are once-born. They have no ceremony for twice-born. Or one who is not twice-born, he's a śūdra. If the twice-born ceremony, is not observed, then it is śūdra. Or act . . . practically, at the present moment, even in India these ceremonies are not accepted or they do not care for it. And what to speak of other countries. Therefore the conclusion of the śāstra is kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ: in this age of Kali, there are only śūdras. Practically there is no brāhmin, no kṣatriya, no vaiśyas. Maybe some vaiśyas. But this is the position.
But here it is said, varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ. Unless one . . . unless the society comes to the institution for accepting these four varṇas and āśrama, it is not human society. And in the human society there is understanding of God, not in the animal society. Therefore as the institution of varṇāśrama is now abolished, people are becoming godless.
Because varṇāśrama means the institution or a set-up of society where gradually one can understand Viṣṇu and worship Viṣṇu. Viṣṇur ārādhyate (CC Madhya 8.58, Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3.8.8). That is the system. Not that so-called brāhmin and so-called kṣatriya, they have no information of Viṣṇu, and they are declaring, "I am brāhmin,I am kṣatriya." They are called, according to śāstra, brahma-bandhu, dvija-bandhu. Dvija-bandhu. One who is born of a brāhmin family or a kṣatriya family or vaiśya family, but do not act as brāhmin, kṣatriya and vaiśyas, they are called dvija-bandhu. They are not accepted as dvija. Strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnāṁ trayī na śruti-gocarā (SB 1.4.25).
This Mahābhārata was compiled by Vyāsadeva for this purpose, because strī, women; śūdra, the fourth class of the society, laborer class, worker class; strī, śūdra; and dvija-bandhu, and persons who are born in the families of brāhmin, kṣatriya, but they do not act, they are called dvija-bandhu. For them, this Mahābhārata was compiled. It is called "Fifth Vedas." Four Vedas: Sāma, Yajur, Atharva . . . Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg, Atharva. So this Vedic language cannot be understood by the less intelligent class of men, who are known as woman, śūdra and dvija-bandhu, strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnām (SB 1.4.25). In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said:
- māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya
- ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ
- striyo śūdrā tathā vaiśyās
- te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim
- (BG 9.32)
So when one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, it does not matter whether he's a strī or a śūdra or a dvija-bandhu. Te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim: they also can be elevated to the highest platform of perfection.