Chatur Varnam

(Four Castes)

  1. The four castes originate from one’s own Self only. They are Mind, Chittam, Buddhi and Ahamkara.
  2. Mind is the Brahmin, as Chittam is the Prakasa, it is the Kshatriya, Buddhi is the Vaisya and Ahamkara is the Sudra.
  3. Brahmins are those who discriminate Nitya and Anitya. When one comes to know the Nitya and Anitya entities, he becomes the Brahmin. He alone is the Vaidika. Hence the authority or master of Veda is the Brahmin. None other than Brahmin is the authority of Veda. Veda means knowledge. The master of knowledge is the mind. If there is no mind, there is no knowledge. That is why it is said that master of Veda is the Brahmin. That Brahmin is the mind. Brahmin is one who merges the mind, spreading from us within the outside, with the self itself, the Nityam, and becomes Tanmayam.
  4. The Kshatriya is the Chittam, the prakasa. The duty of the Kshatriya is destroying the wicked (Dushta) and protecting the good (Sishta). The wicked are the Raga-Dwesha, etc. originating from us. Sishta (the good) is the mind. Due to the wicked thoughts, there arise obstacles to the mind to attain the knowledge, the Veda. Cutting off, and destroying those obstacles by the Prakasa, the Kshatriya and setting up knowledge to the mind is what is protecting the good. Kshatriyas are those who brighten their Jeeva within the Self itself, destroy the enemies of Raga-Dwesha and concentrate the mind strongly, without any motion at all.
  5. The works of Vaisyas are Goraksha, cultivation, trade etc. These are all belong to Buddhi. That is “Go” means sound. That which must protect sound is Buddhi. Only those who have knowledge alone can do cultivation, trade etc. it is told in the world, that ‘he has no Buddhi at all, he has not even had Buddhi to tell a word’ etc. Hence the Vaisya, the Buddhi must do Raksha to Go; i.e., must protect the sound. How is it is: Keep within the Self itself the sound originating from the Self. Without destroying the sound, when it is kept within the Self, then it becomes cultivation. Cultivation is concentrating our Sakti in Sushumna in the head. In that time, the sound merges within the Self, then it becomes cultivation. Cultivation is concentrating our Sakti in Sushumna in the head.  At that time, the sound merges within the self itself, it is the cultivation. Working within the self itself with the Sakti thus being cultivated is trade. By working thus the Vaisya must supply food stuffs to Brahmin. It is the duty of the Vaisya. If the food stuffs are not obtained, the Brahmin gets destroyed. Hence, just as above-said, if we keep in and work the Sakti within the Self itself, the mind will not get destroyed within the outside as Vichara (thoughts). At that time, the mind, the Brahmin merges within the Self without destruction. This is the duty of the Vaisya, the Buddhi. Vaisyas are those who control within the Self the sound being the Vakku, cultivate and work in the above-said manner.
  6. Sudra is the Ahamkara, the “I”. It is to this Ahamkara, the “I”, that there are too many castes. Those castes are the various thoughts. That is: Thoughts such as “I am a man of honour, a man of learning, he is Chandala, idiot, Paraya” and so on. Chandala are those who do and those who are with the thoughts to do the  wicked works such as stealing, lying, cheating, murdering, prostituting etc. It is such kind of castes that are asked to be kept at a distance. That is why it is said that Sudra must not be touched and that there are too many castes among Sudras. But forsaking all the above-said thoughts and works created by Ahamkara, the Sudra must do the Padaseva of the mind, the Brahmin. Padam means Sthanam which means place. Hence it must do Seva of the Bhrumadhyam, the Sthanam or place of mind. Sudra is one who depends on Bhrumadhyam and tries hard to take up and join his Jeeva to that place. This is Brahmin’s Padaseva.
  7. Hence, there are no four castes. They are all created due to the ignorance of not knowing one’s own Self.