TEXT 13

Tekst

Text

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
tasya kartāram api māṁ
viddhy akartāram avyayam

Synonyms

cātuḥ-varṇyam — menneskesamfundets fire inddelinger; mayā — af Mig; sṛṣṭam — skabt; guṇa — af kvalitet; karma — og arbejde; vibhāgaśaḥ — i henhold til opdelinger; tasya — til det; kartāram — faderen; api — skønt; mām — Mig; viddhi — du må forstå; akartāram — som den ikke-handlende; avyayam — uforanderlig.

cātuḥ-varṇyam — the four divisions of human society; mayā — by Me; sṛṣṭam — created; guṇa — of quality; karma — and work; vibhāgaśaḥ — in terms of division; tasya — of that; kartāram — the father; api — although; mām — Me; viddhi — you may know; akartāram — as the nondoer; avyayam — unchangeable.

Translation

Ifølge den materielle naturs tre kvaliteter og det arbejde, der er forbundet med dem, har Jeg skabt menneskesamfundets fire inddelinger. Men selv om Jeg er skaberen af dette system, må du forstå, at Jeg ikke desto mindre er den, der ikke handler, for Jeg er uforanderlig.

According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable.

Purport

FORKLARING: Herren er altings skaber. Han er ophav til alt, alt bliver opretholdt af Ham, og efter tilintetgørelsen hviler alt i Ham. Han er derfor skaberen af den sociale ordens fire inddelinger, der begynder med den intelligente klasse af mennesker, der formelt kaldes brāhmaṇaer, fordi de befinder sig i godhedens kvalitet. Dernæst er der den administrative klasse, der går under den formelle betegnelse kṣatriyaer, fordi de befinder sig i lidenskabens kvalitet. Handelsstanden, der er kendt som vaiśyaer, befinder sig i en blanding af lidenskab og uvidenhed, og śūdraerne eller arbejderklassen befinder sig i den materielle naturs uvidenhedskvalitet. På trods af, at Herren Kṛṣṇa har skabt menneskesamfundets fire inddelinger, tilhører Han ingen af disse inddelinger, for Han er ikke en af de betingede sjæle, af hvilke et udsnit udgør menneskesamfundet. Det menneskelige samfund ligner ethvert andet dyresamfund, men for at hæve mennesket fra dyrestadiet har Herren skabt de ovennævnte inddelinger med henblik på en systematisk udvikling af Kṛṣṇa-bevidsthed. Et bestemt menneskes tilbøjelighed til et bestemt arbejde afgøres af de af den materielle naturs kvaliteter, vedkommende har erhvervet sig. Sådanne livssymptomer ifølge den materielle naturs tre kvaliteter vil blive beskrevet i kapitel 18 i denne bog. En Kṛṣṇa-bevidst person står imidlertid over selv brāhmaṇaerne. Selv om det må forventes, at brāhmaṇaerne af natur kender Brahman, den Højeste Absolutte Sandhed, vender de fleste af dem sig kun til Herren Kṛṣṇas upersonlige Brahman-manifestation. Men et menneske, hvis viden om Guddommens Højeste Personlighed, Herren Śrī Kṛṣṇa, overskrider en brāhmaṇas begrænsede kundskab, bliver en Kṛṣṇa-bevidst person eller en vaiṣṇava med andre ord. Kṛṣṇa-bevidsthed indbefatter viden om alle Kṛṣṇas forskellige fuldstændige ekspansioner såsom Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha osv. Og ligesom Kṛṣṇa er transcendental til systemet med menneskesamfundets fire inddelinger, er en person i Kṛṣṇa-bevidsthed også hævet over alle menneskesamfundets kategorier, uanset om vi taler om opdelinger i samfund, nation eller race.

The Lord is the creator of everything. Everything is born of Him, everything is sustained by Him, and everything, after annihilation, rests in Him. He is therefore the creator of the four divisions of the social order, beginning with the intelligent class of men, technically called brāhmaṇas due to their being situated in the mode of goodness. Next is the administrative class, technically called the kṣatriyas due to their being situated in the mode of passion. The mercantile men, called the vaiśyas, are situated in the mixed modes of passion and ignorance, and the śūdras, or laborer class, are situated in the ignorant mode of material nature. In spite of His creating the four divisions of human society, Lord Kṛṣṇa does not belong to any of these divisions, because He is not one of the conditioned souls, a section of whom form human society. Human society is similar to any other animal society, but to elevate men from the animal status, the above-mentioned divisions are created by the Lord for the systematic development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The tendency of a particular man toward work is determined by the modes of material nature which he has acquired. Such symptoms of life, according to the different modes of material nature, are described in the Eighteenth Chapter of this book. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, is above even the brāhmaṇas. Although brāhmaṇas by quality are supposed to know about Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth, most of them approach only the impersonal Brahman manifestation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But a man who transcends the limited knowledge of a brāhmaṇa and reaches the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, becomes a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness – or, in other words, a Vaiṣṇava. Kṛṣṇa consciousness includes knowledge of all different plenary expansions of Kṛṣṇa, namely Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, etc. And as Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to this system of the four divisions of human society, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is also transcendental to all divisions of human society, whether we consider the divisions of community, nation or species.