Guiding Life Through Varnashrama

From the viewpoint of ensuring a systematic, development and goal-oriented human life, there are two very important concepts in the Sanatana Dharma namely, the Varna Vyavastha and the Ashrama Vyavastha, which have remained noteworthy for a long time.

- Dr. Ravindra Kumar

The Varna Vyavastha is to determine Karmas according to one’s virtues and nature and the Ashrama Vyavastha to guide man to make life meaningful while discharging duties in four stages. As the references to the Varna and the Ashrama Vyavastha appeared in the major Vedic texts themselves as basic instructions for the success of human life, they had a very special significance in the Sanatana Dharma itself. Not only this, but stepping forward in life in accordance with these systems in the form of duties was accepted as a Dharma itself. Putting both of them together, the term ‘Varnashrama Dharma’ also came to be known as a prevalent system in ancient times. Therefore, a careful, prejudice-free and true review of both of these is necessary while discussing the Sanatana Dharma.

Varna:

The basic idea of the Varna system appears in a Mantra (90: 12) of the Purushasukta (which is dedicated to the One Cosmic Man, i.e., the Indivisible Totality), the Tenth Mandala of the Rigveda, the foremost interpreter of the Sanatana Dharma and also the first basic text of it. This mention purely calls for the determination of man’s Varna according to his nature and expectation of his engagement in action accordingly. At the same time, the desired human characteristics and qualities according to Varna are also described by this mention, “Braahminoasya Mukhamaasiidbaahuu Raajanyah Kritah/ Uuruu Tadasya Yadvaishyah Padbhayaam Shuudro A jaayata//” That is, a Brahmin should be knowledgeable (scholar) and renunciant, a Kshatriya should be a physically strong, a warrior and defender, the Vaishya should be a collector of wealth, grains, animals etc. and a Shudra should be of a laborious nature. This Mantra of the Rigveda also appears more or less in the same way in the Yajurveda (31: 11) and the Atharvaveda (19: 6: 6) respectively.