Chapter 18 verse 42
“Tranquility, restraint, austerity, purity, patience, integrity, knowledge, wisdom, and belief in a hereafter—these are the intrinsic qualities of work for Brahmins.”
The one who adheres to the Brahman-immutable consciousness is called a brahmana also called Brahmin in english language. It is not a position you are born into but a position one needs to attain in their life through appropriate actions and behavior commensurate with that state. Adi Shankara as calls their qualities out in his viveka chudamani as 6 qualities which help attain enlightenment along with viveka (discrimination), vairagya (detachment) and mumuksatvam (burning desire to attain eternal happiness)-sama (calmness), dhama (control of senses), tithiksa (forebearance), uparathi (cessation of longing), Shraddha (faith) and samadhaana (concentration of mind). Bhagwan Krishna in this verse distinguishes between knowledge (jnana) and wisdom (vigjnana). Knowledge is just information unless applied to real life when it becomes wisdom. We need the knowledge but that’s not enough and need to be converted into practical application of that knowledge through experience of life which lends us wisdom. Bhagwan Krishna has set a very high bar for brahmana. Cho Ramaswamy-a famous political satirist in India wrote a book and televised it as a teleserial called “where is the Brahmin (enge Brahmanan?)” It is a pertinent question to ask ourselves and in our society.
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