My understanding of chaturvarna

Refer to the shloka in geeta (chaturvanyam maya srushtam…4.13.). The meaning of guna and karma means your karma in both, present and past life. What you obtained as heredity is due to past karma and at the same time you are free to choose karma in present life. The cumulative effect will be your next birth. (prarabdha and prayatna)

Is four varnas and present day cast system (in India) is comparable? I believe varnas are universal in all societies. It may have different names or meaning but each and every society has teachers (Brahman), soldiers (kshatriyas), traders (vaishyas), and service providers (shudras). It is in no way mandatory for any brahmin to follow same tradition in the present life. Then he may be fitted in particular varna according to his karma. Now there may be this wrong notion that only particular varna is superior. The society as a whole cannot function without any of them, so all are equally important.

Depending on the present karma you will get next life, not necessarily only as brahman, but may be to the parents of any of the varnas. If you were brahman in past life and did certain karma expected from you as brahman, but you had karmas which suits more to the specific varna, then you will born to the parents in that varna but with possibility of continuing your specialization of last life. (shuchinam shrimatam gehe …6.41.) If you choose to do karma of different varna in this life, then the next birth will depend on cumulative karmic balance. Now if you were brahman in past life and did things not expected from brahman, and again your karmas suit to specific varna, then you will born to those parents with all kinds of troubles and least possibility of prospering further without effort. But at the same time you are free to do the karmas in this life to change the fate (its called praytna) and gather sufficient momentum for future better life, not necessarily brahman but any of the varna depending on your karma. If you are moving in the same direction what ever you do towards the perfection only to understand that there is unifying principle in everything we do and there is no fight with nature but have inherent harmony, then you are free. There is no other definition of moksha.

Now how we can relate present cast system prevailed in India to this universal varna system. Our philosophy was always centered in revealing the inner nature of the mankind than the outer one. That obviously gives benefit to brahmans as superior, but we have many examples beginning from vyasa, wishwamitra, jabali, vivekanda, tukaram and whole lot of sant parampara in Maharashtra are non brahmins and still could attain what we can called salvation. The point is that, cast system is faulty and rigid interpretation of flexible and scientific varna system in the due course of time. More than one reason is there for this development which is not happened overnight. Your deeds are certainly play major role in your birth but irrespective of cast you born in you can attain highest truth. When we see this meaning of social structure beyond superiority or inferiority then I do not see conflict in the varna (cast) system.

I hope this nullifies the superior nature of brhmans.

I personally whole heartedly believe that varNa system makes sense but the caste system does not. I think we both agree on all these. My argument was only related to relating the past karma and its effect on the birth in the current incarnation.

The fact that any person from any varNa is capable of reaching moksha should suffice to justify equality of varNas.

Another way to argue against birth based caste system or against the superiority of one caste over another would be the argument I had given you sometime ago about number of humans. Considering the exceeding human population (and extinction of other species) the evolution of souls to attain moksha through human birth can be demonstrative of another thought that humans are stuck in this current cycle more due to the materialistic attachments. Using the same argument, one would have to gauge the quality of human life based on number of people in different castes. That in itself would be ridiculed even by a kid, thus it does not make sense that castes can be the measure of superiority or inferiority.

The reason intelligence came into argument is, then can we relate intelligence to the past karma? Is a mentally retarded person carrying loads of bad-karma than a superficially normal murderer? If there is differential intelligence how would it relate to karma?

If there is same intelligence but differences arise due to the ability to express it through this materialistic body, it would make more sense in relating it to the karma. Because then effect of karma is not on the inherent nature or ability of the soul but its expression as in expression of human intelligence. I would like to believe and argue about perfectly equal intelligence at birth in all kids and then environmental effects controlling the ability to express it or cultivate it.. like same quality seeds but one in desert and one in farm. I think this line of thinking could deal with your concern about using karma to relate to different levels of intelligence.. which could be interpreted as different levels in the ability to express or use or apply intelligence.

But personally I find it hard to digest.. one because I would rather find an explanation without relating it to past karma.. but then that always has been the hurdle.. I will talk about that later. Secondly, I find it harder to convince myself with what I want to believe, the concept of equal intelligence because medically we all have different sizes of brain and our intelligence is more or less the ability to use certain % of our brain. That % is a mere 7 to at the most 10% and thus intelligence seems to be in parallel to a physical quantity like strength which can easily be seen to be different in different beings from birth. (By Shekhar Gosavi)

About intelligence, I think we all are born different. There is no same level of intelligence in everyone. If we accept everyone at same level then there is no meaning of past karmas and no justification of different levels of understanding of same subject even by providing similar or identical atmosphere in present birth. The intelligence for specific thing is I think comes as genetic information which is prone to mutation and hence the reason we can expect more intelligent human race in future. What is common at birth for all is the possibility to excel in whatever we possess and acquire new by praytna in this birth. There is another saying (amantram aksharam nasti….) meaning there is nothing useless in this world, we only do not know how to use it. So no one is actually dumb if he/she is weak in maths for ex, but the thing is that he doesn’t now what he possess as heredity. But at the same time there is nothing wrong on anyone’s part to start something new altogether in this life, as not a single karma (good or bad) goes waste and we have to accept the outcome of it. (uddharet atmanatmanam …6.5.) Again from geeta means one is responsible for his present or past or future fate and no one else. As karma defines everything, we even can not blame god (for ex.) for that. The consciousness (god) filled everywhere is inert and doesn’t take responsibility of good or bad deeds.

The ultimate goal of life is to understand this unifying principle either by present day modern science ( which I personally doubt, but I do not deny the possibility) or by inner revealing to get rid of this birth-death cycle (punarapi jananam …..) and be one with the consciousness. The whole subject in geeta is to break this karmic cycle by doing karmas without expecting fruit of it, and then we are not attached with anything.