Casteism in Vedas

The purpose of this post is to give a translation of the Vajra Suchika Upanishad, which discusses castes in Vedas, and talks about the evolution of man to the Perfect Being, Brahman.

The term 'vajra' means a thunderbolt and 'suchika' means a needle. Together, this Upanishad is supposed to be as strong as a thunderbolt and yet as piercing as a needle in the removal of ignorance and the illumination of knowldege.

The shlokas are from Wiki(http://wikisource.org/wiki/वज्रसूचि_उपनिषद्) and the transaltion is from here:http://hinduwebsite.com/vajrasuchika.asp

॥ श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः हरिः ॐ ॥

यज्ञ्ज्ञानाद्यान्ति मुनयो ब्राह्मण्यं परमाद्भुतम् ।
तत्रैपद्ब्रह्मतत्त्वमहमस्मीति चिंतये ॥

ॐ आप्यायन्त्विति शान्तिः ॥

चित्सदानन्दरूपाय सर्वधीवृत्तिसाक्षिणे ।
नमो वेदान्तवेद्याय ब्रह्मणेऽनन्तरूपिणे ॥

ॐ वज्रसूचीं प्रवक्ष्यामि शास्त्रमज्ञानभेदनम् ।
दूषणं ज्ञानहीनानां भूषणं ज्ञानचक्षुषाम् ॥ १ ॥

(After bowing down to Guru, and wishing peace to all concerned) I am now going to teach you the knowledge of Vajrasuci which dispels ignorance, condemns the ignorant and elevates those who possess the eye of wisdom.

ब्राह्मक्षत्रियवैष्यशूद्रा इति चत्वारो वर्णास्तेषां वर्णानां ब्राह्मण एव
प्रधान इति वेदवचनानुरूपं स्मृतिभिरप्युक्तम् ।

तत्र चोद्यमस्ति को वा ब्राह्मणो नाम किं जीवः किं देहः किं जातिः किं
ज्ञानं किं कर्म किं धार्मिक इति ॥

The Brahmana, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya and the Sudra: these are the four varnas. The Vedas proclaim that the Brahmana is the first among them and the smritis also affirm it. There is however an interesting aspect about this. Actually who is this whom we refer by the name Brahmana? Is he (the subtle body known as) Jiva ? Is he the physical body? Is he (the descendent of) the community to which he belongs? Is he (the possessor of) the knowledge? Is he (the doer of) the actions he undertakes? Is he (the performer of) the religious rites he performs?


तत्र प्रथमो जीवो ब्राह्मण इति चेत् तन्न ।
अतीतानागतानेकदेहानां
जीवस्यैकरूपत्वात् एकस्यापि कर्मवशादनेकदेहसंभवात् सर्वशरीराणां
जीवस्यैकरूपत्वाच्च ।
तस्मात् न जीवो ब्राह्मण इति ॥

Of this the first premise that Brahmana is jiva is not tenable because the same jiva enters different bodies in previous lives. Although it is one, due to the impact of the past deeds and desires the same jiva happens to reside in many bodies (in different lives). Therefore a Brahmana is not on account of the jiva.

तर्हि देहो ब्राह्मण इति चेत् तन्न ।
आचाण्डालादिपर्यन्तानां मनुष्याणां
पञ्चभौतिकत्वेन देहस्यैकरूपत्वात्
जरामरणधर्माधर्मादिसाम्यदर्शनत् ब्राह्मणः श्वेतवर्णः क्षत्रियो
रक्तवर्णो वैश्यः पीतवर्णः शूद्रः कृष्णवर्णः इति नियमाभावात् ।
पित्रादिशरीरदहने पुत्रादीनां ब्रह्महत्यादिदोषसंभवाच्च ।
तस्मात् न देहो ब्राह्मण इति ॥

Then coming to the statement that the body is Brahmana, this also is not acceptable because universally the body is composed of the self same five elements (the earth, the water, the fire, the air and the ether), from the Brahmanas down to the lowest of the human class and subject to the same processes of old age and death, good and evil in all. One cannot also generalize that the Brahmanas have white complexion, the Kshatriyas red complexion, the Vaishyas brown complexion and the Sudras dark complexion,( because these colors are not uniform among these classes). Besides the bodies can become tainted with such sins as the killing of Brahmans, improper cremation of bodies by their descendents and so on. Therefore a Brahmana is not so because of the body.

तर्हि जाति ब्राह्मण इति चेत् तन्न ।
तत्र
जात्यन्तरजन्तुष्वनेकजातिसंभवात् महर्षयो बहवः सन्ति ।
ऋष्यशृङ्गो मृग्याः,कौशिकः कुशात्,जाम्बूको जाम्बूकात्,वाल्मीको
वाल्मीकात्,व्यासः कैवर्तकन्यकायाम्,शशपृष्ठात् गौतमः,
वसिष्ठ उर्वश्याम्,अगस्त्यः कलशे जात इति शृतत्वात् ।
एतेषां
जात्या विनाप्यग्रे ज्ञानप्रतिपादिता ऋषयो बहवः सन्ति ।
तस्मात्
न जाति ब्राह्मण इति ॥

Then it is said that a Brahmana is so because of his caste. This is not acceptable because there are diverse communities in the world, even in the animal world, and the seers and sages come from different communities. We have heard from the sacred scriptures that many seers were of animal origin. Rishyasringa was born of a deer, Kaushika came from the grass, Jambuka from a Jackal, Valkimi from an ant hill, Vyasa from a fisher girl, Gautama from the back of a hare, Vashista from the celestial nymph Urvasi, Agastya from an earthen vessel. Among these many have attained the highest rank, despite of their lower birth and given proof of their wisdom. Therefore a Brahmana is not so because of his community.


तर्हि ज्ञानं ब्राह्मण इति चेत् तन्न ।
क्षत्रियादयोऽपि
परमार्थदर्शिनोऽभिज्ञा बहवः सन्ति ।
तस्मात् न ज्ञानं ब्राह्मण इति ॥

The argument that knowledge makes a Brahmana is also not acceptable because many Kshatriyas and others have seen the Highest Reality and attained perfect knowledge. Therefore a Brahmana is not so because of his knowledge.


तर्हि कर्म ब्राह्मण इति चेत् तन्न ।
सर्वेषां प्राणिनां
प्रारब्धसञ्चितागामिकर्मसाधर्म्यदर्शनात्कर्माभिप्रेरिताः सन्तो जनाः
क्रियाः कुर्वन्तीति ।
तस्मात् न कर्म ब्राह्मण इति ॥

That karma (actions) make a Brahmana is not acceptable because we see the existence of prarabdha and sanchita karma in all beings. Impelled by their previous karma only all the saintly people perform their deeds. Therefore a Brahmana is not so because of (present) karma.


तर्हि धार्मिको ब्राह्मण इति चेत् तन्न ।
क्षत्रियादयो हिरण्यदातारो बहवः
सन्ति ।
तस्मात् न धार्मिको ब्राह्मण इति ॥

Then it is also not true that on account of dharma (religious duty or activity) is a Brahmana. There are many Kshatriyas who have given away gold as charity. Therefore a Brahmana is not on account of dharma


तर्हि को वा ब्रह्मणो नाम ।
यः कश्चिदात्मानमद्वितीयं जातिगुणक्रियाहीनं
षडूर्मिषड्भावेत्यादिसर्वदोषरहितं सत्यज्ञानानन्दानन्तस्वरूपं
स्वयं निर्विकल्पमशेषकल्पाधारमशेषभूतान्तर्यामित्वेन
वर्तमानमन्तर्यहिश्चाकाशवदनुस्यूतमखण्डानन्दस्वभावमप्रमेयं
अनुभवैकवेद्यमपरोक्षतया भासमानं करतळामलकवत्साक्षादपरोक्षीकृत्य
कृतार्थतया कामरागादिदोषरहितः शमदमादिसंपन्नो भाव मात्सर्य
तृष्णा आशा मोहादिरहितो दम्भाहङ्कारदिभिरसंस्पृष्टचेता वर्तत
एवमुक्तलक्षणो यः स एव ब्राह्मणेति शृतिस्मृतीतिहासपुराणाभ्यामभिप्रायः
अन्यथा हि ब्राह्मणत्वसिद्धिर्नास्त्येव ।

सच्चिदानान्दमात्मानमद्वितीयं ब्रह्म भावयेदित्युपनिषत् ॥
ॐ आप्यायन्त्विति शान्तिः ॥
॥ इति वज्रसूच्युपनिषत्समाप्ता ॥
॥ भारतीरमणमुख्यप्राणंतर्गत श्रीकृष्णार्पणमस्तु ॥

Then who is to be known by the name Brahmana? He who succeeds in perceiving directly the self without a second like an amalaka fruit in the palm of his hand, who is devoid of the distinction of caste, trait and action, who is devoid of all the faults such as the six imperfections and the six states of being, who is of the nature of truth, knowledge, bliss and infinity, who is self existent, without will power, but the impeller and supporter of all will power, who exists in all as the indwelling spirit, who is within and without of all like the ether, who is of the nature of indivisible bliss, immeasurable, known only through ones direct experience, who manifests himself directly as truth, who has successfully overcome such imperfections as desire and passion, who is filled with the riches of tranquility, who has eliminated from his being such states as envy, greed and infatuation, who lives unaffected by such things as ostentation and egoism- these aforesaid qualities make up a Brahmana. This is the opinion expressed by all the srutis (Vedas), smritis (religious books), Puranas (ancient lore) and the Ithihasas (historical works). Otherwise it is impossible to attain Brahmanahood. Meditate upon Brahman, the inmost Self, who is of the nature of truth, consciousness and bliss and who is without a second. Meditate upon Brahman, the very Self, who is without a second. This is the Upanishad.