It is the ordained action,
rather than mankind,
that
Yogeshwar Krishn has divided
into
four VARN or classes.

A worshiper with inadequate knowledge is at the Shudr stage.
So it is incumbent on him to begin his quest with rendering of service
as required by his native ability,
for thus alone can the proficiencies of the
Vaishy, Kshatriy,
and
Brahmin classes be gradually inculcated in him.

Thus only will he be enabled to ascend step by step.
At the other end,
the Brahmin too is flawed
because
he is yet distant from God.
And, after he has merged with that Supreme Being,
he ceases to be a Brahmin.

“Varn” denotes “form.”
A man’s form is not his body but his inborn disposition.

Sri Krishn tells Arjun in the third verse of Chapter 17 :

“Since the faith of all men,
O Bharat, is according to their inherent propensity
and
man is essentially reverent,
he is what his faith is.”

Every man’s character is moulded by his faith
and
the faith is according to his dominant property.

Varn is thus a scale,
a yardstick,
to
measure one’s capacity for action.

But with the passing of time we either grew oblivious of
or
discarded the appointed action,
began to decide social status
by heredity-thus treating
varn as caste,
and
laid down rigid occupations and modes of living for different men.

This is social classification,
whereas the classification
made in the Gita
is
spiritual.

Moreover, they who have thus twisted
the meaning of varn have also distorted
the implications of action.
With the passage of time,
thus,
varn
came to be determined by birth alone.

But the Bhagavad Gita makes no such provision.
Sri Krishn says that he was the creator
of
the fourfold varn.

Are we to assume from this that there was creation
within the boundaries of India alone,
for castes such as ours cannot be found
anywhere else in the world?

The number of our castes and subcastes is beyond counting.

Does this mean that Sri Krishn had divided men into classes?

The definitive answer to this is found
in the thirteenth verse of Chapter 4,
where, he declares:

‘‘I have created the four classes (varn)
according
to innate properties and action.”

So he has classified action,
not men,
on the basis of inherent properties.
The meaning of varn will be understood without difficulty
if we have grasped the significance of action,
and the import
of
varnsankar will be clear
if we have comprehended
what varn is?

One who deviates from the way of ordained action
is
VARNSANKAR.

The true varn of the Self is God himself.
So to stray from the path that takes the Self to God
and
to be lost in the wilderness of nature
is
to be
varnsankar.

Sri Krishn has revealed that no one can attain to that Supreme Spirit
without
setting upon the way of action.

Sages of accomplishment who are emancipated
neither gain from undertaking action
nor
lose by forsaking it.
And yet they engage in action for the good of mankind.
Like these sages,
there is nothing that Sri Krishn has not also achieved,
but he yet continues to labour diligently
for the sake of men who lag behind.

If he does not perform his given task well and earnestly,
the world will perish
and
all men will be varnsankar
(Bhagavad Gita- 3:22-24).

Illegitimate children are said to be born when women turn adulterous,
but
Lord Krishn affirms that all mankind is under the threat of falling
into the varnsankar state
if the sages who dwell in God
refrain from fulfilling their obligation.

If these sages desist from the performance of their assigned task,
the unaccomplished will imitate them,
discontinue worship,
and for ever wander in the maze of nature.

They will thus become varnsankar,
for the immaculate God
and
the state of actionlessness can be achieved
only
by an undertaking
of
the ordained action.

~Revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Jee Paramhans~

_/l\_
Humble Wishes!!!