Last Day in Vrindavana

Today is our last day in Vrindavana. These days in Vrindavana have afforded us the greatest opportunity to directly connect with Krishna here in His most sacred abode, which is non-different from Him. Coming into contact with Vrindavana means coming into contact directly with Krishna. And there is not much more to be stated in this connection. Every particle of dust here is more valuable than the wealth of Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods. Simply by breathing the air of Vrindavan one becomes relieved of the resultant reactions from millions of lifetimes of sinful activities. Simply by gazing upon the trees, bushes, cows, and the river Yamuna one becomes reconnected with one's original identity as the eternal servant of Krishna. One then has to then beg Krishna to become fully absorbed for all of eternity in pure devotional service to His lotus feet.

It is most important to note in connection with entering into Sri Vrindavana Dhama that according to the sastras one can only enter into this transcendental abode by the mercy of a bona fide spiritual master. If one is in material consciousness, he only experiences a shadow of the holy dhama. It is by the mercy of a bona fide spiritual master, who is the revealer of Sri Vrindavana Dhama, that we are allowed to factually enter into the sacred precincts of Sri Krishna's transcendental abode. We cannot enter into Vrindavana Dhama by purchasing an airplane ticket to Delhi and hiring a taxicab from the airport. We can however purchase a ticket to Vrindavana for the price of unflinching faith in the words of Sri Guru and Sri Krishna.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Sri Sri Radha Krishna--the Lords of Vrindavana

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: Why Hinduism Inculcates the Caste System?

Why does the Hindu religion inculcate the caste system when one of its first teachings is that each living entity is equally divine, irrespective of the body he or she dwells in?

Karthik

Answer: Vedic System is Based on Qualities, Not Birth

The first point to understand is that the word "Hindu" does not appear in the Vedas. It was a term with a derogatory tone that was coined by the Muslims to describe the religion of those persons who lived east of the River Sindu, which was pronounced by them as "Hindu." The actual Vedic religion is known as varnashram dharma, the system of four varnas and four ashrams.

The second point to understand is that in the Kali yuga the caste system that has evolved is a deviation from the original system of four varnas and four ashrams described in the Vedic literature. While in the caste system one's position in the society is determined according to one's birth, in the varnashram system one's position in the society is determined according to one's qualities and activities.

This is confirmed as follows in the Bhagavad-gita:

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ

"According to the three modes of material nature and the qualities and work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me."
--Bg 4.13

Note that Krishna specifically states "guna-karma." Guna means qualities, and karma means work. In other words one's social position is measured according to one's qualities and actions, not according to his birth. If Krishna had wanted the system to be based on birth, He would have directly stated "janma", which means birth, instead of specifying "guna-karma", qualities and activities.

This caste system was propounded by the brahmana class when they became materialistic in order to sew up their position on the top rung of the social ladder even though they did not possess the exalted brahmincal qualities to make them worthy of this position.

While is it true that every living entity is inherently equally divine, in this materialistic conditioned life the divine qualities are covered by the three modes of material nature. And according to one's degree of covering, he is naturally inclined to manifest the qualities and activities of a person who situated in one of the four divisions of the human society:

1. Worker class (sudra)
2. Agricultural-mercantile class (vaisya)
3. Warrior-administrative class (ksatriya)
4. Priestly-intellectual class (brahmana)

Sankarshan Das Adhikari