Saturday, April 11, 2020

Srimad Bhagavat Gita commentary chapter 4 verse 13


Chapter 4 verse 13

“The fourfold caste, has been created by Me, according to the differentiation of guna and karma; though I am the author thereof, know Me as non-doer and immutable”

There are 2 things to consider in this verse. First is that Lord Krishna is attempting to drill into Arjuna’s head that he is God principle and not just his friend in this life. He is the immutable, indestructible one! He is not affected by any of his actions since he is resident in his Self 100% of the time and practices non-doership. Every one of us has the potential to be that which the Lord is in this avatar. Second important point to consider is that the Universal rules have been created by him. In this case, the 4 divisions in society for people to action so the world can sustain in an orderly fashion has been created by the Lord. The 4 divisions are Brahmana- the teachers and intellectuals guiding the society, they are not supposed to acquire wealth or power but knowledge to be passed on to society, Kshatriyas- the rulers/ protectors of the society who need to ensure safety of their subjects and take care of everyone including the welfare of Brahmanas; Vaishyas- The class of people who would create wealth and resources- farmers, traders and drive the economy of the society and last but not the least- Shudras- service oriented people who provides all the services needed for a robust society to function. Depending on the makeup of a particular person and the tendencies they inherit from previous lives, they are born into one of these situations or classes and when they do the action (karma) expected of them for that class, they are able to take full advantage of their lives and exhaust their vasanas. We will discuss this system in more detail in future verses and chapters.

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