How to classify people into varNas
There is a shloka (7. 11. 35 [yasyayllakshNam proktaM puMso varNAbhivyaMjakaM | yadanyAtrApi dRushyeta tat tEnaiva vinirdishEt ||] that very clearly states how to classify human beings into various varNAs.
It states “If one shows the characteristics of brahmana, kshatriya, vyshya and shudra as described above, even if he has appeared in a different class, he should be accepted according to the results of the classification of his characteristics.” It is clearly stated here that people should be classified according to their inherent characteristics, not according to where they are born.
This is not to say that the birth circumstances can have no influence in the character of an individual. Family circumstance and how a person is raised will have some influence in the characteristics of an individual. Innate characteristics and family circumstances both have an different amounts of influence for different people.
No comments:
Post a Comment