Chapter 4 Shloka 13 चातुर्वर्ण्यं मया सृष्टं गुणकर्मविभागशः तस्य कर्तारमपि मां विद्धयकर्तारमव्ययम् Chaaturvarnyam mayaa srishtam gunakarmavibhaagashaha Tasya kartaaramapi maam viddhyakartaaramavyayam Four classes have been created by me based on the division of Guna and Action. Even though I created them still know me as the non doer and imperishable. Shri Krishna advises us to act per our Svadharma. By efficiently performing Svadharma we can liberate ourselves while performing actions. Knowing that one should perform one’s Svadharma or Duty in this world is core to Karmayoga. Now the question is how does one know what is one’s Svadharma. Shri Krishna says that human beings are categorized into four classes or Varnaas. These classes are based on the three Gunas and the corresponding action that each Guna prompts us to do. The three Gunas and their corresponding actions are as follows. Rajas is expressed as as activity or agitation. Tamas is expressed as lethargy or laziness. Sattva is expressed as knowledge and peace. So we have to perform self-analysis in order to understand how the Gunas behave within us and in what proportion to each other.A Brahmana who is predisposed to gaining knowledge, faith, sharing knowledge will usually have a prominence of Sattva. A Kshatriya who demonstrates courage, likes to organize and protect people face challenges take risksand try new things will have a prominence of Sattva and Rajas. A Vaishya who likes to be creative and produce something will have a prominence of Rajas and Tamas. A Shudra who likes to execute tasks but requires a lot of motivation will have prominence of Tamas. I can say there is an incorrect notion that Varna is determined by birth. There is no such thing. Shri Krishna reminds us that although he has set up this classification of Varna yet he is not the Doer. It is Maya alone that is acting in this world whereas he is only the witness to its actions.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 11:30:17 +0000
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